The Legal Surrogacy Process: 5 Things Southern Families Should Know

There are a number of elements that impact the legal surrogacy process, including your marital status, biological connection to your child, and other individual circumstances. State surrogacy laws are another determining factor — and these laws are often complex and ever-changing.

Southern Surrogacy is operated by a team of highly experienced attorneys who are very familiar with surrogacy laws throughout the southern states. We work closely with each intended parent and provide independent legal counsel for our gestational carriers to ensure all aspects of the surrogacy process are handled safely and legally.

Because of our expertise in surrogacy laws in Georgia and North Carolina, where our Directors are members of the state bar, and our close relationships with lawyers in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, we are confident in our ability to obtain pre-birth orders for all of our clients, regardless of their circumstances.

With Southern Surrogacy:

You will obtain a pre-birth parentage order. Through careful matching and attention to state laws, Southern Surrogacy is able to obtain a pre-birth order for all of our intended parents. This pre-birth order establishes you as the legal parents of your child prior to his or her birth, ensuring you can make medical decisions for your baby, take him or her home from the hospital, and more.

You will not have to complete a stepparent adoption. We believe that parents should never have to adopt their own child — and a pre-birth order ensures that.

Here, find additional answers to common questions about Georgia surrogacy laws, as well as surrogacy laws in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Where is gestational surrogacy permitted?

Throughout the southern states, gestational surrogacy laws are generally favorable; there are no statutes or published case laws prohibiting gestational surrogacy in Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, or Tennessee.

However, legal surrogacy procedures can vary from state to state and even county to county. Southern Surrogacy will work closely with you to ensure your surrogacy complies with all applicable laws in the state where your baby is born or where the fertility treatments take place.

Where is traditional surrogacy permitted?

Traditional surrogacy is not expressly prohibited in the southern states, but its legality in certain states is unclear. In most cases, traditional surrogacy laws are more complicated. Additional legal steps may be required to complete the process, including termination of the surrogate’s parental rights and a stepparent adoption for the non-biological intended parent.

How can we obtain a pre-birth order?

Through a careful matching process and clear understanding of state surrogacy laws, we are confident that we can obtain a pre-birth order in every one of our surrogacy cases.

State laws and procedures to obtain a pre-birth order vary. Generally, Southern Surrogacy will petition the court during the second trimester to grant a pre-birth order of parentage. We will present documentary evidence, including the surrogacy contract and a statement from the physician who completes the embryo transfer.

When the court grants the pre-birth order, the intended parents will be recognized as the baby’s legal parents before his or her birth. This ensures that the intended parents can take the baby home from the hospital, make important medical decisions for him or her, and more.

Is surrogate compensation legal?

Yes. All of Southern Surrogacy’s gestational carriers are fairly compensated for their time, energy and commitment, as outlined in the legal surrogacy contract.

To learn more about Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina surrogacy laws, as well as Southern Surrogacy’s legal services, please contact us to schedule a consultation.